<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The One Where Dick's a Badass by sporktato</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23363236">The One Where Dick's a Badass</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sporktato/pseuds/sporktato'>sporktato</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Big Brother Grayson [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Big Brother Jason Todd, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Dick Grayson, Panic Attacks, Protective Dick Grayson, but not really he loves his brothers and would kill for them, dick grayson is a badass, references to Dick being Slade's apprentice, this is my fuck you to Batman's no killing rule</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:22:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,885</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23363236</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sporktato/pseuds/sporktato</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim, Jason, and Damian were on the same page for one thing and one thing only - Dick Grayson was a poor fighter, not that smart, and would be best suited not getting involved in most things because of his Mother Hen nature.<br/>However, when the three of them end up tied up and hopeless, they get a night's worth of new information about their big brother.<br/>(a.k.a. my personal fuck you to both Bruce's no kill rule and also DC for ignoring the fact they basically created a human weapon and just made him smiley and hot instead)</p><p>Sequel to The One Where Dick's Brothers are (Unnecessarily) Worried About Him</p><p>(also this started out real light hearted and got dark fast and then light again whoops)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson &amp; Jason Todd &amp; Damian Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Big Brother Grayson [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874215</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>862</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The One Where Dick's a Badass</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dick’s hold on his anger got ripped out of his hands as soon as he got to the Cave. There Bruce was in the Nest, as impassive and stone fucking faced as always. Dick yearned to punch that look off. He took the stairs three at a time, fixing Bruce with his own glare. He’d gotten his anger under control years ago, and he would not blow up in front of Bruce, he wasn’t a child anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the actual flying fuck were you thinking, Bruce?!” Whoops. Bruce stared at him, apparently surprised at being yelled at. Good. “I get a call from Barbara saying my fucking brothers are in trouble, and you’re in here with your thumb up your fucking ass! What the fuck made you think to send Tim and Damian to deal with a drug exchange? You know as well as I do Jason deals with that shit, and now all three of them are being held by fucking Moxons? And just what the fuck are you doing in here? Instead of helping your fucking sons?” Dick paused to catch his breath. He was actually shaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you done?” Bruce, unemotionless fucking Bruce, asks dully, like Dick was asking about the weather.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick slaps him - hard. His hand immediately burns and Bruce’s neck cracks at the force. “Now I am.” There’s a perfect handprint on Bruce’s cheek and Dick just knows he’s going to be in deep shit later. He can’t be bothered; as long as his brothers were safe, Dick couldn’t give a shit about himself. Dick works on getting his breath under control while Bruce works his jaw, both of them glaring at the other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Due to the current arrangement I have with Penguin, I cannot be seen anywhere near the Southeast tonight. That’s why I had Barbara call you. Go save your brothers.” Dick could feel himself shaking again, but he really didn’t have the time. Bruce turned his back on Dick, finding more interest in the computer screen. The logical part of Dick knew Bruce was worried of course, but god forbid he ever show it. However, that part was being overridden by his emotions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re a cunt.” Dick hissed at his wall of a back before storming back down the stairs, throwing his bike around and out of the Cave with as much power as possible.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Tim was running through possible outcomes. Very few of them ended as anything other than a loss, or a pyrrhic victory. He blames Bruce, which he feels is just. Bruce had sent Damian and himself to deal with a drug exchange, knowing full well Jason would have it under control and the two of them would just accidentally meddle. Accidentally meddle is exactly what they did, and Jason was outed as well, so here the three of them were, tied up in a warehouse, without weapons or comms. Tim knew Bruce wasn’t coming, he couldn’t (it was a long story involving Penguin and a bomb and a risky agreement), and Tim dreaded what would happen to Dick if he tried to intervene. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jason, at least, seemed to be on the same wavelength, muttering, “We’ve gotta get out on our own, before Wing tries to help.” Damian had nodded, but that was the extent of their plan. The issue was, there was a metric fuckton of thugs. Somehow, the Moxons had nearly doubled since Tim saw them last, and the Sullivans didn’t seem like they’d be leaving anytime soon either. Actually, it seemed Jason, Damian, and himself were being worked into the negotiations between the two groups. Fuckity-fuck-fuck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a knock on the warehouse door. Everyone in the building stared at the door. Damian shot a look at Jason, who shrugged, just as confused. The knocking came again, louder. The Maxons and Sullivans were visibly hesitant, also shooting looks at Jason and between each other. A third round of knocking had a Sullivan heading for the door, the grip on his gun tight. Both of the groups were also aiming at the door. The Sullivan man slowly turned the knob and had pulled it back two inches before it was slammed open from the outside, hitting the Sullivan guy right in the face. An arm darted around the door, pulling the stunned man out with a shout before the door opened all the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightwing stood in the doorway, the Sullivan man in front of him like a human shield, his gun now in Nightwing’s hand. The muzzle was dug into the man’s ribs. Nightwing was smiling. A tendril of fear worked its way unreasonably into Tim’s stomach. Every single gun was trained on the man in front of Nightwing, as he was bigger than Nightwing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightwing stuck his head out at the guys shoulder, staring at all the guns pointed at him. “Give me my brothers, and clear out the building, and there won’t be any issues.” He was still smiling, but it was a dangerous one, one Tim would expect to see on Jason, not Dick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two groups were shifting nervously, and so were Jason and Damian on either side of Tim. This could only end in so many ways. “Fuck off.” One of the Maxon men spit at Nightwing, adjusting his grip on his gun. “You won’t kill ‘em. You don’t kill.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightwing shrugged, smiling wider. “Who said anything about killing?” He adjusted his own gun closer to the man’s stomach, a perfect place for a slow death from bleeding out. Tim couldn’t believe this was happening. Dick was, well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>kind. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Above all else, including being not that smart, and not that good of a fighter. Dick was mother hen, who avoided violence at all costs. Yet here he was, threatening a painful and slow death, for his brothers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some of the men seemed to realize the Nightwing they were dealing with was not the typical Nightwing. They were shifting, eyes flitting between each other. A few glance back to Tim and his brothers. Tim almost wanted to tell them he was just as unsure as they were. The only one who seemed certain was the guy Nightwing had the gun to. He was terrified, shaking in place. His mouth kept opening like he wanted to say something but nothing ever came out. He managed to scare a decent amount of the Maxons. With looks towards Tim, and towards the Maxon leading the group, over a dozen fled to a side door. The leader cursed them out but kept his gun on Nightwing. Truck doors audibly opened and slammed shut. An engine started, then a second and a third. Nightwing somehow smiled wider and sharper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The glass windows of the warehouse shattered inwards as all three trucks turned into fireballs. Without meaning to, Tim screwed his eyes up, curling up as much as possible behind Jason’s body as the glass rained in and the heat and light with it all. Gunfire broke through the shock of the explosions. Gasping, Tim forced his eyes open, watching his oldest brother tear through the building with a ferocity Tim was stunned to see. The human shield had been shot - though by Dick or a baddie Tim never wanted to know - and was bleeding out loudly in the doorway. Smoke was pouring through the shattered windows and the fire turned the building into a hellish looking place. There were no screams from outside, for better or worse. Inside, though, Dick was reigning down hell. Tim’s ears were ringing as Dick unloaded the clip into kneecaps with scary precise aim. The clip runs out and Dick throws the gun like one of his batons and a thug crumples as it connects with his skull, already bleeding as he hits the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Next come the batons, electrified and terrifying and Tim can’t even follow Dick’s movements as he spins through the room, batons and fists and feet coming down with a force that shouldn’t fit into that tiny acrobat body. Distantly, Tim feels Jason twisting and pulling beside him, trying to get free, but the three of them were tied better than the gangs should have been able to manage. It doesn’t really matter, Dick had already put almost all the thugs on the ground anyways. There’s only five now between Dick and his brothers, and Dick turns on them with a smile. Tim shivers. He refuses to ask himself if he’s afraid of his brother, because to be afraid of Dick is ridiculous, only maybe it isn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Should have left when you had the chance.” Dick says lightly, like there wasn’t a massacre behind him. He cocks his head in the way that usually makes the word ‘dumb’ flash through Tim’s head only now it’s a predatory head tilt, like how best to get rid of the prey in front of me? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the thugs, the leader, thrusts his gun forward. “We ain’t afraid of you!” He yells, although his hands are shaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick’s face drops to neutral long enough to be concerning, and then he smirks knife sharp, looking the thug in the eye. All he says is, “You will be.” before he charges at them and one second there’s six people in front of Tim, then Dick’s in the air, and then it’s just him standing over the leader. The guy is struggling under Dick’s foot on his back, with his arm close to breaking in Dick’s hands. “You’ll think again before messing with my family, won’t you?” Dick asks him as he would a child, his voice sweet but grip tightening on the man's arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man gurgles out some form of confirmation, and screams as Dick breaks his arm. Tim flinches at the stark noise, and again as Dick’s foot connects with the man’s head, knocking him out. Finally, it is just Tim and his brothers left and Tim is not as relieved as he should be. Dick bends over the thug to grab something off of him and then approaches the three of them. Damian and Jason seem to be in as much shock as Tim.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick snorts as he comes over to them, and there’s a knife in his hand, catching the light from the fires outside, the fires from the men Dick probably killed ohgodDickkilledthem, and Tim tenses. Dick crouches in front of him and Tim wants to squirm, wants to yell this man is not his brother, and then Tim sees Dick’s hands are shaking too as he grabs one of the ropes around Tim. “You should have told him no.” Dick speaks barely above a whisper, and it’s watery. “He knew better. Promise me you’ll tell him no next time, I can’t, I can’t-” The ropes give Tim up and Dick grabs him and pulls him into a hug that Tim is still too shaken to return. Dick pulls away, looking him in the eye and there’s the mother hen furrow between his eyebrows and the gentle hand brushing over his cheek searching for injuries and Tim wants to cry from the whiplash. “Can you stand?” Dick asks and Tim nods before he even considers the answer. “Good. Get up baby bird, find where your stuff is.” Dick stands and helps pull Tim to his feet, before offering him a smile, a real one and ducking back down to free Jason. Tim numbly watches him, as does Jason and Damian, all silent. They are all confirming this is in fact their brother, and yes he is there as he makes some poor joke about them being tied up for the night and as his fingers catch Jason’s pulse point on his wrist in the not so subtle way he’s done since Jason came back. Then Jason’s untied too and Dick tries to help him up as he did Tim only Jason will always be twice as heavy as Dick and pulls himself up, swatting Dick’s hand away and Tim realizes he’s still standing there and then Dick is staring at him in a concern that’s familiar and before Dick can ask Tim says the first excuse he can think of.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t see where they threw our stuff.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A lie, and Jason and Damian both know it, but Jason nods his head and says, “I think it was over here.” Tim follows Jason after they both shoot a glance to Damian and oblivious Dick, but he may not be oblivious. Tim is flying in reverse as fast as he can through every interaction he can recall he’s had with Dick and analyzing from every new angle and bumps into Jason’s back. Their stuff is thrown haphazardly in front of them and the two silently begin collecting everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you know?” Tim asks without meaning to. He goes to pull the sentence back as Jason stares at him, paused in strapping his holsters back on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” He fidgets with his gun a bit before continuing. “I mean, I guess. I used to hear his fights with B, and they were - messy - but verbal fights with him versus - that? I don’t know Tim.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tim grabs Damian’s belt and gloves silently. Jason switches between staring at Tim and back into the room their brothers are in. “He would never hurt us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Jason is exceedingly quick to agree. “That anger, well it was for us, wasn’t it? He’s not like B. If we don’t know anything else about him, we know that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tim nods as they head to the doorway. Dick is talking to Damian, looking as relaxed and unthreatening as he’d always been. The room was still lit up by the fires outside, and the guys scattered on the ground were starting to moan. “But where’d he learn it all?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jason opened his mouth, then slowly closed it, biting his lip, and shrugging. “We’ll see.” Is all he offered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They returned to Dick and Damian, the later took his belongings quietly and suited back up. They all turned to look at Dick. Dick whose fingers were twitching, and was doing his best to keep a frown off his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wing?” Jason pushed. “You good?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick’s hand twitched seemingly of its own accord. “I will be. Let’s go.” Damian opened his mouth to say something, but Dick cut in with a quiet, “Please.” and Damian clicked his mouth shut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four of them picked their way over the bodies towards the door. Tim kept his eyes on Jason’s back and forced himself to step over the corpse of the human shield from earlier. The smell from the fires was bad outside. Like burning flesh and plastic and rubber. Damian hesitated, staring at the skeletons of the still burning trucks and the lumps visible inside and Tim clamped his hand on Damian’s shoulder and pulled him after Dick and Jason, who were having a quiet conversation. They reached Dick’s bike and Jason turned to Tim and Damian. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go get your bike, and Wing and I will see you two in the Cave.” Tim looked at Dick, who offered the fakest smile Tim had ever seen. Tim wondered if Jason was purposely going with Dick. He saw Damian nod stiffly beside him, and the two of them left their older brothers in silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drake.” Damian began, once they had gotten far enough. “You know our lives are never as black and white as Father likes them to be.” Tim nodded, waiting for Damian to keep going. “And Grayson did that for us.” Damian seemed to work through emotional issues best when he explained them to someone else. “This does not make Grayson like my mother or grandfather.” They climbed onto Tim’s bike, Damian wrapping his arms around Tim’s waist. “I feel this has much to do with Father.” It was worded as a statement, but Tim knew Damian was asking for confirmation. He hummed, starting the bike.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It wouldn’t surprise me.” They took off, effectively ending the conversation with the rushing winds.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Tim eased into the Cave, and could hear Dick before they even got to the Nest. Damian got off the bike and waited for Tim so they could climb the stairs together. It was an interesting sight - their kind, sensitive, caring older brother dropping f bombs like they were going out of style, and Bruce standing there and taking it, looking whiter than normal and absolutely floored. Jason’s outline was visible through the frosted glass of the med bay, as was Alfred’s. Tim and Damian stopped in unison, watching the scene in a flabbergasted trance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-considered trusting his abilities?! Jason was fully fucking capable of dealing with that shithole but no you just had to put all of my brothers in harm’s fucking way! And fuck your deal with Penguin he’s gonna blow that pile of shit up anyways and we both know it so you have no fucking excuse, Bruce! Just once! Just once I want you to put your family’s fucking lives before your goddamn crusade! But you keep just fucking killing us and bringing us back as you deem fit, don’t you Bruce?! You can fuck with me all you want, but if another hair on any of their heads get harmed because of your fucking senselessness, I swear to god I’ll make you regret it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jason had reappeared on the other side of the Nest, Alfred beside him. Bruce’s face had started to turn a worrying angry red halfway through Dick’s rant, and his fists clenched worryingly as Dick paused to breathe, and to see what Bruce would say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have no right-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick laughed, a harsh bark that caused Damian to flinch. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>have no right? At least I care-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You killed those men, Richard!” Bruce burst towards Dick a few steps, anger visibly pulsing through him. Jason tensed across the Nest, fully ready to interfere. “You broke my one rule! And you say you care!” Bruce’s arm shoots forward, to grab Dick, or hit him, Tim doesn’t know, it doesn’t end up mattering. Before Jason can take a step forward, Bruce is on the ground, staring dumbly at Dick standing over him. Jason, Tim, and Damian wear equal expressions of shock, meeting each others eyes before darting back to Bruce and Dick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick stares down at Bruce, seemingly relaxed. Calmly, he says, “If you didn’t want me to be good at killing, you should have found Slade earlier. Or not sent me to Spyral. I care about my brothers, Bruce, and when it comes down to their lives for a few baddies’,  I’ll take that deal every single time, unlike you.” Bruce has yet to get off his back, still seemingly dumbfounded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick turns to Tim and Damian, and Tim expects to meet the eyes of a callous stranger, but he doesn’t. He meets the big, blue, shockingly open and sad eyes of his big brother. It hurts Tim, a little, like that emotional whiplash again. The look only lasts a second, but there’s that eyebrow furrow again, and the bitten lip Damian always chastises him for, and Dick tells the two of them to let Alfred look at their wrists and other bumps so softly Tim almost doesn’t hear him, but nods anyways. Then Dick looks down at Bruce and it’s the stranger again, and without saying anything else, Dick turns and practically jogs to the elevator, costume and all despite Alfred’s hatred of costumes upstairs.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Much later, after a small family talk in the hallway between the kitchen and the entrance room, Jason leads the way as the three of them climb the stairs and head to Dick’s room. The three share a look outside the closed door, and Jason lightly raps his knuckles on it. There’s no answer, but they all know he’s in there. Damian fidgets with his sweater string, looking at the door like it’ll give him some answers. Jason sighs and knocks again, a little louder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dickie? Can I come in?” He calls out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a muted sound behind the door, a beat, and then a faint, “It’s unlocked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jason sends Tim and Damian both another look before slowly turning the knob. It’s dim inside Dick’s room, only the desk lamp illuminates the room from the far corner. Tim can count on one hand the number of times he’d been in Dick’s room and it takes him a second to familiarize himself with the layout. There’s a pile of things on the floor beside the desk that look like they were angrily swept off, and the windows are open, letting a crisp night breeze in, and it takes Tim a moment to even find Dick. He’s on his bed, swathed in a blanket and tucked into the top corner, looking older and sadder and more tired than Tim’s ever seen him, and Tim can’t tell anything anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He can’t tell if he wishes this night had never happened or not. He can’t tell if he should be worried or sad or angry or afraid or curious or what. He can’t tell which parts of Dick are the real parts anymore, and that’s the worst part. Tim had gone so long writing Dick off as the dumb, happy, nice, small, weak one, and so had Damian and Jason, but Dick killed men tonight, thoughtfully planting those bombs in advance. Dick plowed through the other goons with insanely impressive competency, not even breaking a sweat. Dick landed Bruce on his ass faster than Tim could process. Yet he looks right now sad and small and weak. It hurts Tim’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jason closes the door after the three of them. He sits on the bed and looks at Dick. “We have a few questions.” He states quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick starts crying. Damian twitches beside Tim as tears run down Dick’s cheeks. Tim doesn’t think Dick even realizes he’s crying, his breath isn’t hitching or anything and he’s not wiping them away, it’s just like Jason turned on a faucet with his words. Dick nods his head, a silent ‘Ask, then’, and Jason shifts on the bed. None of them know how to deal with crying, even if it’s Dick crying. Especially if it’s Dick crying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve killed before this, right?” Tim frowns internally. They had devised a list of questions, but it seemed Jason was jumping ahead a number of them. Maybe the crying was a time limit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick meets Damian’s eyes as he nods, looking down again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And B knew?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To an extent.” Dick croaks out, just as quiet. “Willful blindness, I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But he sent you to Spyral. He had to know.” Jason presses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick shrugs, focusing his gaze on the desk lamp. Damian drops onto the end of the bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dick.” Jason hesitated before continuing. “What did you mean about Slade?” That triggered something in Dick. Immediately his entire body tensed and the grip on his blanket became white knuckled. His breath finally hitched, but he wouldn’t look away from the lamp. Tim lowered himself onto the ground by Damian and sped through hundreds of possibilities, each more unlikely than the rest, but it had been an unlikely night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dick.” Tim tried. “Slade taught you how to kill, didn’t he?” Damian made an aborted noise in his throat that went unheard as Dick finally let out a single sob. Jason’s arm twitched like he couldn’t decide whether to move closer or farther away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” Dick whispered. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.” He starts shaking his head and pulling the blanket close to him. Tim recognizes the beginnings of a panic attack when he sees one, so does Jason. Jason scootches closer on the bed to start prying Dick’s hands off the blanket as Tim stands to get a glass of water from Dick’s bathroom. In the seconds it takes Dick had apparently given up all strength and was clinging to a startled but calm Jason, sobbing painfully as Jason muttered who knows what and rubbing his back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Damian looks pained, and Tim sits beside him again, only slightly guilty about letting Jason deal with Dick by himself. Tim, with the new information, works on piecing the two different Dicks into the true one as Dick starts to breathe better. They wait in an only slightly awkward silence as Dick pulls himself back together and away from Jason. He’s still crying, but it’s back to the silent faucet tears and Tim lets himself relax a little.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lemme,” Dick begins, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “Lemme just - explain. Please.” He doesn’t look at them, keeps his eyes on the blanket pooled around his waist, but all three of them nod all the same. Dick sniffs and swallows, and then starts talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Deathstroke taught me - taught me all that, yeah, Timmy. And Spyral reinforced it. But it’s more than that. I - when I was younger, barely Robin, I trained with the Justice League.” Tim’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. He had never been allowed to do that, and from the noise Jason made, the same went for him. “Yeah.” Dick says, shaking his head. “Superman and Wonder Woman and Black Canary and Flash and Green Arrow and Green Lantern. Martian Manhunter for a time, but I - well, I’ve got some strong mental walls, let’s say.” He paused to wipe his nose again and take a sip of water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t we?” Jason asked after a moment. Dick bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“B, he realized what he’d done. To me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did Father do to you?” Damian demanded, scrunching his eyebrows up. Dick huffed, a terrible imitation of a laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Turned me into a human weapon, Dami. I could take out the League by the time I was twelve. And then I began spending time with other sidekicks, and it just got worse. To him. I’m-” Dick screwed his eyes shut and took a big breath before opening them again, still not meeting any of their eyes. “Wally and Roy, and Connor and Artemis and Kaldur. Then Donna and Garfield and Raven and Kori. Cassie, Hank and Dawn, and Garth, and Zatanna and Raquelle. I’ve trained with so many people, and learned how they fight, and how to take them down. All those different styles and powers and I know how to use or exploit all of them. And then - Sla- Deathstroke. And then the list kept growing and got so much worse with Spyral. I’m a walking fucking weapon. Why do you think I’m Bruce’s contingency plan?” Dick starts shaking again, breath rattling in his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He says again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Tim is harsher than he means to be, but it’s pissing him off, the entire thing is. Dick’s eyes finally snap up to stare at him, a little hazed over and glossy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why what?” He breathes out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you sorry?” Dick’s breath gets caught in his throat and Tim’s afraid for a half second he just made everything ten times worse, but something in Dick’s eyes clears and he swallows a hiccup.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t- I don’t know. I don’t know. You’re not supposed to know I’m a fucking mess, right? Can’t have dumb, happy, mother hen Golden Boy be sad or mad or anything, right? I just want you three to be happy. I’d only do that for you three.” Dick closes his eyes again and pulls his hands up to meet his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know how we view you?” Jason asks, genuinely confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Todd I do not think that is the important part-” Damian begins quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no.” Tim cuts him off, gears turning. “I think it might be.” Damian sends him a confused look Tim waves off. He turns back to Dick, with his face still in his hands. “That’s it, isn’t it? You didn’t like what you’d been turned into, so you decided to be,” Tim ponders his word choice for a half second. “soft, around us. Right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick’s hands drop away from his face, and it’s clear to see just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrecked </span>
  </em>
  <span>he is from this whole night. He wobbles his head indecisively for a moment. “Kinda, I guess.” He tugs at the blanket some more, but Tim knows Jason and Damian are just as ready to wait as he is. “First, it was because of Bruce, but not like that. It was-” He fades off, pondering his words too probably, but he suddenly focuses on Damian with the sharpest look he’s had this entire sitting and Damian’s back unintentionally straightens. “Would Bruce have taught you kindness the way I did?” Tim and Jason both snap their heads to stare at Damian, who looks put on the spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, Damian simply says, “No. You taught me kindness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick nods. He looks determined now. He turns to Tim. “How often does Bruce sit and listen to your half baked theories and take them seriously? How often do you feel you can go to him and just talk? About anything?” Tim’s taken aback. He puts serious thought to Dick’s question as quickly as he can, and the answer comes disappointingly easy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Almost never. I can’t remember the last time we talked about something not work or school related.” Dick nodded at him too. Tim saw where this was going, and he didn’t like it. Dick turned to Jason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When was the last time I gave you shit about how you fight? When I told you to pull back and restrain yourself, or told B about what you did or didn’t do?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jason opens his mouth and slowly closes it. He shakes his head. “I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were taking care of us.” Tim states. Dick slowly turns to look at him again, with those big unsettling blue eyes. “You don’t fight so that Jason can. You don’t work out crime scenes and cases so that I can. You see the best in everybody so hopefully Damian will too. It just happened to go hand in hand with you not wanting to be a weapon anymore.” Tim physically rocks back at the revelation. Jason lets out a ‘holy fuck’ and drags his hand his face. Damian just stares at Dick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” Dick says again, like a broken record.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop apologizing.” Jason snaps out half as sharp as he wants. Dick opens his mouth and closes it. “You know we dissed you right?” Jason asks him with surprising intensity. “You know we thought you were like stupid and weak and stuff right? We’ve kept you out of shit because of that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick does his best imitation of a smile. “I know.” He states simply, as if his brothers hadn’t been treating him as inferior for the last god knows how long. “Sometimes, for someone like me, staying out of your plans is actually a good thing for every party involved.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a few moments of quiet as everyone processes everything that had happened in the last while, and stitch the final parts of their new ideas of Dick together. Tim can’t help it - he starts laughing. All three of his brothers send him strange looks and Tim tries to wave them off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry!” He manages. “It’s just-” He gasps for air, looking at Dick. “You landed Bruce on his ass!” Jason snorts, and then it’s all over, they all lose it, cackling at all the things Dick had done that was a ploy for one of them, that now seem so obvious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The baby carriage-!” Damian shouts at Dick, who is thankfully laughing as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course it was a trap Dami! It was the worst trap ever!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait wait wait-” Jason cuts in. “That fight with Two Faces dudes? You so weren’t hurt were you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick snorts. “Of course not Little Wing! But I could tell you were itching to kick someone’s ass and I’d rather them than B.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tim cuts in. “Yeah cause only you’re allowed to do that!” He rolls his eyes overdramatically, causing another round of laughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His face!” Jason howls. “He had no idea!” Damian is positively snorting with laughter and Tim’s sides are burning in the most pleasant way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, they manage to settle down, Dick wiping away tears that had turned from ones of sorrow to ones of mirth. They all look at each other. Dick opens his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you say you’re sorry one more time Dickhead,” Jason cuts him off. “I swear I will piledrive you into your own bed.” Dick smiles, a proper one, and suddenly yawns. Tim is hit with his own exhaustion like one of those trains that have the snow plows on the front. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dick.” Jason says, all joking gone. “You’re still our brother. You know that right? Fucking sucks what happened to you, and what we’ve unknowingly done to you, but you’re still our big bird.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Damian nods. “You are our family, Richard.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tim rolls his eyes, and says what they won’t. “We love you, Dick. This doesn’t change anything. Other than that I’m gonna hold you responsible for more things now.” Tim adds the last bit after a moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick cracks a smile. “Okay Baby Bird.” Tim gets up, gets closer to his big brother, and gives him a hug. This time it’s Dick that freezes momentarily, before quickly melting into Tim, clutching onto him tightly. Tim feels Damian and Jason join in the hug, their first and probably last group hug, and Tim fears Dick’s gonna start crying again. They pull apart once Jason starts to squirm and all take a collective breath in and out. Jason meets Tim’s eyes with a look that under other circumstances would end poorly, but Tim gives him the night’s doubt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna grab your mattress, Timbo.” Tim, wasn’t expecting that. He blinks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, why?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Damian huffs. It seems they’re all back to normal emotionally. “It’s obvious Drake. We’re having a sleepover.” Jason nods seriously, like sleepovers with Dick was something he did often. There’s a moment as Tim processes this. Dick laughs. It’s a clear, loud laugh, one Tim had memorized, could recognize in a crowd, and Tim smiled despite the weird tightness in his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” He agrees, staring at Dick, at how happy he looked, despite everything that had happened tonight. “Yeah okay let’s grab it. Think we can smuggle snacks from the kitchen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can get snacks.” Damian offers, standing with Tim and Jason. He looks as giddy as Dick, and even Jason is smiling widely. “Grayson can find a movie to watch.” The three of them turn to Dick, still sitting in the corner of his bed with his blanket but oh so different from when they first came into the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Dick agrees. “I can find something that’s not Disney for you boys.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jason shrugs. “I don’t know Dickie. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen a Disney movie. I’m sure we’re all overdue.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dick laughs again. “Oh don’t be all sweet on me now just cause you know my tragic backstory.” Jason smirks and heads for the door, Damian close behind him. Tim turns to Dick, asking a question he doesn’t even know how to word. Dick smiles at him, those all knowing blue eyes and that perpetual mother hen furrow and those bitten lips. Tim nods, and heads for the door as Jason yells for him from down the hall.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>